Star Trek: New Horizons
1.02 - “Stranded”
written by Travis Cannon
“Report!” Keller came storming onto the bridge from the back turbolift, Pelar behind him.
“We've just jumped,” Morgan said, standing up from the command chair. Keller ignored the chair and went straight to the helm.
“What's going on, Ensign?” he asked Hakim.
Manny Hakim shrugged. “I can't explain it, sir,” he said, furiously pounding on his console. “I did not activate the jump.”
Keller tapped his commbadge. “Keller to engineering, report.”
“The jump drive activated itself, sir,” Gomez said. “And the charge cycle is charging itself much quicker than it should.”
“Any anomalies in the area?” Morgan asked.
Hutch turned around from the half rebuilt science station. “The sensors are still below optimal working ability, but I'm detecting no anomalies to explain it...”
The ship shook again. Keller was knocked off his feet and almost hit his head on the fallen beam, laying across the bridge. He pulled himself up, past the beam.
“Report!”
“Another jump, sir,” Hakim said.
Colonel Morgan pushed past some fallen debris and headed for the science station. “Lt. Hutchby, give me something we can work with.”
“Sensors are still not detecting anything to explain it, sir,” Hutch said. “Maybe it's the computers! Maybe they have a virus... wait! Maybe I have a virus and am reading the sensor reports incorrectly!”
“You look fine, Lieutenant,” Morgan said. “Focus on the computer then. Search for any errors.”
“Aye.”
Keller stood behind Hakim. He looked over his shoulder for Pelar, but could not find her.
She seemed to have vanished.
24 hours earlier...
“Me? Are you sure?” Colonel James Morgan questioned.
Seated behind the desk in the ready room Commander Jack Keller inclined his head. “You are the most qualified,” Keller explained. “And besides Admiral Rutledge, your the next highest ranking officer on board.” He paused. “So, what do you say?”
“Do I have a choice?” Morgan asked.
Keller stood up. “No... I don't think so.”
“What about my duties with the MACOs?” Morgan inquired.
“You'll still have them,” Keller said. “You'd just also be the ship's first officer as well.”
Keller extended his hand, and the two shook.
“Commander Keller to the bridge,” came Hakim's voice over the intercom.
Keller and Morgan ducked under a fallen bulkhead and exited the ready room.
Sparks greeted them as they stepped out onto the bridge. Keller made his way over to Ensign Hakim, Morgan was behind him.
“Yes, what is it, Ensign?” Keller asked, looking over at the engineering work crew as they worked to resemble the science station.
“Engines are not responding, sir,” Hakim said. “I've tried contacting Engineering, but I get not response.”
Keller exchanged a glance with Morgan.
“I'll check it out, sir,” Morgan said, dogging a slanted beam, as he made his way to the turbolift.
“How's the jump drive doing?” Keller asked, returning his attention to Hakim.
“Completely charged,” Hakim said. “The navigation system, though, that's a completely different story.” Keller looked down at the helm terminal. “The systems shocked. And with low power reserves, we can't replicate any duplicate materials. Add to that fact that I'm not receiving any help from engineering.”
Keller looked over at the engineering work crew and hailed one over. “Crewman?”
A sandy haired crewman looked up and came forth.
“Commander?”
“Did Beltram order this repair?” he asked.
The crewman shook his head. “The Lieutenant Commander is in sickbay.”
“Then who gave the order?”
“I did, sir,” came a soft voice from the side turbolift.
Keller looked up and saw a young engineering Lieutenant finish stepping out onto the bridge. Keller appraised her with noticed that pips on her collar indicated that she was a junior grade lieutenant. “And you are?”
“Gomez, Commander,” she said. “Lieutenant Carmen Gomez.”
“And Beltram,” Keller asked the doctor, as she shifted her medical device over the patient in front of her.
“He's in a coma, Jack,” Saunders said. “Hutch!”
They both turned to see Lieutenant Donald Hutchby, in mid-motion, grabbing a hypospray. “Come on, doc! I need it!”
“We're on a limited supply, Hutch,” Saunders said, swiping the hypospray from her number one patient.
Hutch turned towards Keller, with pleading eyes.
“Come on, Commander,” he pleaded. “You need your acting science officer working at peak efficiency.”
Keller shook his head. “I don't see anything efficient in interrupting Dr. Saunders with trivial matters, Lieutenant.”
“Trivial!” Hutch said. “I may have the Tulopian plague, or maybe even the Hox pox!”
“I doubt it,” Saunders said. “If you truly had the Hox pox, you'd be turning green and start sporting yellow spots.”
Hutch looked at his hand and blinked. “It may just be in the early stages.”
“That's enough, Hutch,” Saunders declared, glaring at him. “Come back in a an hour and I'll run a scan.”
That seemed to satisfy the hypochondriac science officer, and left to continue with his duties. Keller turned back to Saunders.
“How do you deal with that, Kel?” he questioned.
“Extreme patience,” Saunders answered.
“Is that something they teach you in medical school?” he asked.
“Yeah, and how to heal people as well,” she said with a smile, as she finished her work on the crewman laying on the biobed. She tapped him on the shoulder. “You can get back to work, Zimm.”
Crewman Zimm nodded and jumped off the bed. Saunders turned to start working on the next injured crewman. Keller followed behind her.
“What's the injury report, Kel?” he asked.
“Well, three dead, but you knew that,” she said, looking over at the body bags in the corner. “Captain Pryce, Lt. Commander Zed, and CSO Lipton. The rest, except for Beltram, are not that serious. Most from engineering. The engines took one hell of beating, Jack.”
Keller nodded and looked over his shoulder at Lieutenant Gomez, who was seated in Saunders' office.
“You should talk to her, Jack,” Saunders said, her eyes focused on the injured ensign in front of her. “She's done a good job keeping the engineering team together and working.”
“I tried looking up her on the computer,” Keller said. “But the how system is down.”
“She was on the Vulture, Jack,” Saunders said, looking Keller in the eyes. “She was Mandrake's chief engineer.”
Keller glared at the back of Gomez's head. “She doesn't deserve to wear the uniform,” he grumbled.
“Beltram didn't think so,” Saunders said.
“What?”
“Remember, I was assigned to Horizon before you, Jack,” the doctor said, as she worked on the ensign's forehead. “Beltram spoke very highly of her. You know he taught at the Academy, right?”
“No, I didn't.”
“She was one of his students,” she explained. “He spoke on her behalf at her Article 32 hearing, as did Captain Kelsoe.”
“Kelsoe? But she tried to take over his ship,” Keller said.
“No, Mandrake did, not her,” Saunders corrected him. “Carmen Gomez is a Starfleet officer, Jack, and she deserves some credit for how she's handled herself here. After all, you're going to need to acting chief engineer.”
Keller nodded, and looked back at Gomez.
“As you can see, sir,” Gomez was saying. “The warp core is...”
“How did you become the chief engineer on the Vulture, Lieutenant?” Keller asked.
“Sir?” Gomez brushed a stray hair out of her eyes.
“Answer the question, Lieutenant.”
“During Operation Return, the ship received a direct hit,” she explained. “There was an explosion in engineering, Commander Havel was caught in the it and died. Captain Mandrake gave me a field promotion to Lieutenant and made me chief engineer. After we liberated DS9, Starfleet Command upheld it.”
“So this is nothing new, to you?” he said.
“I don't think I follow you, Commander.”
“Replacing a deceased or dying superior officer,” Keller said.
“Commander?” Gomez shifted her gaze.
“Look at me, Lieutenant,” Keller spoke with authority, and the engineer complied. Keller stared into her eyes for a long time and then smiled. “You'll do.” And with only saying that he left.
A high pitch laugh filled the room.
“Well done, Commander,” Admiral Rutledge said, slapping the commander on the back. “I knew you had it in you.”
“Admiral?” Keller half smiled, unsure whether or not he had just received a compliment.
“Lieutenant Gomez will make a fine chief engineer,” Rutledge said, taking a seat, a cup of ginger tea in his hand.
“So you think I made the right decision, sir?” he asked.
Rutledge looked over at Lieutenant Pelar.
“Well you tell him, my dear,” the Admiral leaned back and took a sip of his tea.
“The Admiral just did,” Pelar said. “You made the right decision, Jack.”
Keller inclined his head and leaned back. They were in the admiral's quarters. The Admiral had started the get-togethers two days after they arrived wherever it was they were.
“How are the navigation systems doing?” he asked.
“Same as last week, sir,” Keller said. “But I think it will get done a lot faster now that we have a chief engineer running the repairs.”
Rutledge nodded. “Keep up the good work, Commander.”
The rest of the day consisted of two staff meetings and countless repair jobs. By the time Keller returned his quarters, at least what was left of his quarters, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Janice Pelar was standing outside his door when he woke.
“Jack,” she said, almost startled. “I have today's crew assignments from the Admiral.”
“Good morning, Janny,” he said, gesturing. “Come in.”
Pelar took a step in.
Keller yawned wide and stepped over to his personal replicator. “Coffee.. strong.”
In a moment his coffee materialized. He picked the mug up and took a sip... and winced.
“What?” Pelar asked, as a betazoid, she could sense his discomfort.
“Too hot,” Keller said, blowing on the liquids surface. “Well, let me see this assignment sheet.”
Pelar handed over a padd, which Keller examined. “You know, the Admiral didn't have to do this.”
“He feels kind of helpless trapped in his quarters,” Pelar said. “He knows he's placed you in command, but only of the ship, not the project.”
“The project?”
“Yes,” Pelar said. “The Horizon Project.”
“But we're lost, how can he still be pushing for us to work on the project,” Keller said. “Our main priority should be to find a way home.”
“I know, and I agree, Jack,” Pelar said. “But he's an old man and...”
“What, what is it that you're not telling me?” Keller asked, tossing the padd on what was left of his couch.
“Nothing, Jack,” Pelar insisted.
Keller wasn't so sure about that, he'd know Janice for a long time, and something did not sink in well with him.
“All right,” he accepted her explanation, for now at least. “I noticed he has how meeting schedule...”
The ship suddenly shook violently. Pelar lost her footing. The coffee mug in Keller's hand slipped out of his hand, as he positioned himself to catch her. Together they seemed to tumble in space before they hit the side wall. The alert klaxons sounded immediately.
“Commander to the bridge!”
Keller stood, and helped Pelar up. “On my way.”
“Report!” Keller came storming onto the bridge from the back turbolift, Pelar behind him.
“We've just jumped,” Morgan said, standing up from the command chair. Keller ignored the chair and went straight to the helm.
“What's going on, Ensign?” he asked Hakim.
Manny Hakim shrugged. “I can't explain it, sir,” he said, furiously pounding on his console. “I did not activate the jump.”
Keller tapped his commbadge. “Keller to engineering, report.”
“The jump drive activated itself, sir,” Gomez said. “And the charge cycle is charging itself much quicker than it should.”
“Any anomalies in the area?” Morgan asked.
Hutch turned around from the half rebuilt science station. “The sensors are still below optimal working ability, but I'm detecting no anomalies to explain it...”
The ship shook again. Keller was knocked off his feet and almost hit his head on the fallen beam, laying across the bridge. He pulled himself up, past the beam.
“Report!”
“Another jump, sir,” Hakim said.
Colonel Morgan pushed past some fallen debris and headed for the science station. “Lt. Hutchby, give me something we can work with.”
“Sensors are still not detecting anything to explain it, sir,” Hutch said. “Maybe it's the computers! Maybe they have a virus... wait! Maybe I have a virus and am reading the sensor reports incorrectly!”
“You look fine, Lieutenant,” Morgan said. “Focus on the computer then. Search for any errors.”
“Aye.”
Keller stood behind Hakim. He looked over his shoulder for Pelar, but could not find her.
She seemed to have vanished.
Keller did a double take.
Yes. It was true. Janice Pelar had vanished.
“Report!” Keller ordered.
“The jump drive is continuing to charge at record speeds, sir,” Hakim said.
“Keller to Gomez,” Keller said tapping his commbadge.
There was no response.
“Keller to engineering.”
“Ensign Tavark here, sir,” came the voice of the Tellarite.
“Where's Lieutenant Gomez, Ensign?” Keller demanded.
“I don't know sir,” grouched the Tellarite. “She sort of vanished.”
“Vanished?” Morgan squinted at the science sensors. “Run an internal sensor sweep, Lt. Hutchby.”
“Aye.” Hutch quickly ran the sensor scan and shook his head in astonishment.
“Well?” Morgan asked, standing over his shoulder.
“They're all gone, Colonel,” Hutch muttered, still in shock.
“What?” Keller said, turning his head as the ship jumped again.
“All female crew have vanished!”
Keller stood in the middle of sickbay, as Crewman Nick Tomas, the young man he spoke to earlier on the bridge, was helped onto a biobed. Deputy Medical officer Johann Astian rushed in. He was a thin looking man with thin light hair. His blue eyes looked up at the commander.
“I can't explain it, sir,” Astian said. “All the woman disappeared. One moment I was talking with Dr. Saunders and then the next she was gone.” He shook his head. “Nurse Sammings is gone, as well.”
Astian picked up a medical tricorder and scanned Crewman Tomas. He nodded and turned to a tray with hyposprays. He picked up and gave the crewman an injection.
“I can tell you one thing, Commander,” Astian said. “With all the woman gone, we're short handed... especially here.”
Keller nodded. “I'll see what I can do, Doctor.”
“You do that.”
Manny Hakim pulled the panel off and laid it on the floor. He picked up an ODN recoupler, and peered into the circuitry.
“Be careful you don't give yourself a shock,” Hutch said from behind.
Hakim looked over his shoulder to see the nervous science officer standing behind him, looking at the open ODN relay panel.
“I'm always careful, Lieutenant,” Hakim said.
“Really?” Hutch questioned.
Hakim reached in with the ODN recoupler and began making repairs.
No sparks.
No discharges.
No shock.
“Manny, that's an unusual name,” Hutch spoke up from behind.
“It's short for Maninder,” Hakim said.
“Oh?”
“It means lord of the mind,” Hakim explained. He heard Hutch chuckle. His brow furrowed and he refocused his attention on the repairs.
“There must have been some sort of anomaly,” Morgan said as he entered the turbolift with Keller.
Keller gave a nod of agreement. There was a period of silence. The only sound that could be heard was the turbolift mechanism carrying the lift up to the bridge.
“One hell of a first day,” Morgan said.
Keller smiled. “Yeah, you can say that again.”
The doors opened and the two officer walked out onto the bridge. Keller nodded towards the fallen beam, as they ducked under it. “Once we find out the problem and fix it, we're going to have to clear up the bridge.”
Morgan gave a nod of acknowledgement.
Keller walked up behind Hakim.
“Well, Manny, what you got?”
Hakim was on his knees in front of an open ODN relay panel below the helm console. “The ODN relays underneath this terminal had been damaged. Problem from the Breen attack.”
“You think that's the reason for the jumps?” Keller asked.
“Possibly,” Hakim said. “But it doesn't explain the speed, and the sudden disappearance of all female crewmen.”
Keller nodded and looked up at Hutch.
“Anything to add, Mr. Hutchby?”
Hutch shrugged. “You're guess is as good as mine, Commander.”
Colonel Morgan stepped forward. “You haven't been running scans?”
The lieutenant's raised his eyebrows, and eyes became wide. “Oh, that's what you wanted me to do?”
“What have you been doing?”
“Watching the lord of mind fix the ODN relay,” Hutch said with a laugh.
“Lord of mind?” Keller questioned.
“I'll explain it later,” Hakim said, as he replaced the panel over the relay and stood up. “All done.”
“Can you stop the jumps?” Keller said, standing over Hakim's shoulder as the former took his seat in front of the helm.
“Affirmative,” Hakim said, examining the display screens on the console before him. He typed and narrowed his eyes. “Though we'll experience one more jump. It was all ready on the way, and was unaffected by my repairs.”
The ship shuddered and then stopped.
“View screen,” Morgan commanded.
Hutch was sitting back at his station and activated the screen. “Planets!”
“Magnify,” Keller said.
The screen flashed and zoomed in showing two planets orbiting a yellow sun.
“Picking up a space station,” Hutch said.
“Show me.”
The screen flashed again to show a large complex of interconnecting modules that looked like nothing Jack Keller had seen before.
“Now that's impressive.”
Keller and Morgan turned around to see Lieutenant Janice Pelar standing where they had last seen her. Morgan dashed over to the science station and ran an internal scan. He turned back to Keller and gave a nod.
“They're all back,” he confirmed.
“Janny?” Keller said, stepping closer to her.
“Jack?” Pelar raised her eyebrows in confusion.
“You disappeared,” he said, almost wrapping his arms around her, but stopped short of doing so. “You, Saunders, Gomez... all female crewmen, vanished over three hours ago.”
Pelar's brow furrowed. “The last thing I remember was the ship making jumps at abnormally fast,” Pelar said. “Then you and Colonel Morgan were discussing the possibilities of an anomaly. We jumped again and... and then I commented on that space station.”
Morgan looked down at Hutch, who had began scanning himself with a medical tricorder.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking to see if I've been infested with any of the anomalies that caused them to disappear,” Hutch explain.
“You can't catch an anomaly like you can a cold, Mr. Hutchby,” Morgan said. “It's not like that.”
“I beg to differ,” Hutch responded. “There was this time of Dreelu IV...”
“They seem like a friendly bunch,” Admiral Rutledge said, looking out his window at the space station spinning in orbit.
An hour ago, after all of the missing crewmen returned, the Horizon had made contact with the Treelan, who welcomed them to their system. Keller assigned Colonel Morgan and Lieutenant Gomez to conduct trading with them aboard the space station, which it turned out was the space equivalent of an interstellar marketplace. Meanwhile Rutledge, Lieutenant Pelar, and himself had met with the Chief Executive of the Treelanian First Ministry.
Rutledge turned away from the window and looked at his companion for afternoon tea.
“What's the matter, Commander?” he asked, with friendly open eyes.
“I can't stopping thinking our helpless I felt, sir,” Keller said, slouched in one of the chairs.
“When Lieutenant Pelar disappeared?”
“When they all disappeared!”
Rutledge nodded.
“It reminded me of the time my younger sister, Jennifer, got lost of Megas Prime,” Keller said. “It was just after she excepted a medical residence at the central hospital.”
“And how did that go?” Rutledge inquired.
“Turns out she was out with some friends,” Keller said. “I just overreacted.”
“And did you overreact today?” Rutledge asked.
Keller merely shrugged. The Admiral let out a sigh and continued.
“We sometimes find ourselves in situations beyond our control, Commander,” Rutledge said, taking a seat across from Keller. “It is how we deal with them that help shape us and prove our character.”
“And how did I fair?” Keller questioned.
“You may have felt helpless, but you didn't show it, did you?”
“No, I didn't,” Keller acknowledged.
“Well, there you have it,” Rutledge said with a smile. “You passed with flying colors.”
“What do you think happened?” Keller asked.
Pelar shifted in bed, and wrapped one arm across Keller's chest.
“I'd agree that some anomaly intersected with the ship,” she said. “Adding the damages to the ship from the Breen attack, caused the usual jump cycle.”
“No, not that,” Keller chuckled. “You disappearing?”
“Oh that,” Pelar said, running her fingers through the hairs on Keller's chest.
She paused for a moment, her black eyes gazing out the window at the stars swirling past.
“Well?”
“I can't,” she said. “And I doubt you'd find someone who could.”
“Why is that?” Keller asked, holding her closer.
“Come on, Jack,” Pelar said, giving him a soft kiss. “Didn't you pay attention during physics class at the Academy?”
“No,” Keller said, laughing. “I was too busy paying attention to you.”
“Ogling is more like it,” Pelar said. “I could sense your eyes on me during the whole semester. I kept waiting for you to ask me out, but you didn't get up the nerve until a classmate introduced us.”
“Who you think asked her to do that?” Keller asked.
“Shut up,” Pelar gave him a playful slap.
“Well?” Keller said after they had finished laughing at their youthful follies.
“Oh come on, Jack,” Pelar said. “You know, Professor Hicks would be so disappointed.” She paused before answering. “Different galaxy, different laws.”